Open defiance pays off for deported “Dreamers”

In its early years, the Obama administration was fairly active in deporting illegal immigrants. But in the summer of 2012, with the election looming, Obama granted unilateral administrative immunity to a large class of illegal aliens who came to this country at a young age.

Most observers expected, I think that many deported aliens who would not have been removed under current Obama administration policy would attempt to sneak back into the U.S. It’s likely that some have.

But others are simply walking openly in the country with fanfare. The first such group, the “Dream 9,” entered the U.S. in the Arizona to apply for “humanitarian parole.”

Such parole is normally reserved for people with extreme medical conditions. The “Dreamers,” instead,cite fear over violence in Mexico.

What happened? The 9 were able to apply and were “paroled” to families in the U.S. pending resolution of their case, which will likely take years.

Inspired by the Dream 9, a larger group of 32 deported “Dreamers” crossed the border into Laredo, Texas at the end of September, with the cameras rolling. Wearing their high school caps and gowns, they chanted “undocumented and unafraid.” These days, under the Obama administration, the undocumented have little to be afraid of.

It appears from the Huffington Post, which serves as their cheerleader, that the Laredo Dreamers will succeed in remaining in the U.S.

Frankly, I see no good reason why this cohort should fare worse than the more than ten million other illegal immigrants who would receive amnesty and citizenship under the Schumer-Rubio legislation or some variation thereof. The deported Dreamers tug on the heartstrings more powerfully than their parents who illegally brought them to the U.S., and more powerfully than millions of others who entered the U.S. illegally as adults.

But that tug stems from the fait accompli of their prior illegal entry into this country, coupled with their persistence. It’s bad policy to reward this sort of fait accompli and persistence. You end up getting more of the same.

The Arizona and Laredo Dreamers teach us that there will always be that next wave of illegal immigrants clamoring to be made legal and asking, not without reason, “why not me?”